


it's okay

by Anonymous



Category: Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Avengers (Marvel Movies), Thor (Movies)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Angst, Avengers: Endgame (Movie), Avengers: Endgame (Movie) Spoilers, Bruce Banner Needs a Hug, Hurt Thor (Marvel), Other, Thor (Marvel) Feels, Thor (Marvel) Needs a Hug, Vormir
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-05-17
Updated: 2019-05-17
Packaged: 2020-03-06 20:06:04
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,758
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18858169
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/
Summary: “Bruce, Thor, you guys go to Vormir to get the Soul Stone,” Tony had said.They were all suited up, standing together.“Whatever it takes,” they had uttered.If only they had known how true that statement would be.





	it's okay

Five years. Five years after that purple tyrant’s head hit the ground. Five years with half the universe dead. Five years of Thor wallowing in shame, thinking about how messed up and stupid and selfish he was. Five years of Thanos haunting his damned head, replaying all his mistakes, thinking of how he should’ve aimed for the head. Five years of drinking his worries away, the days blurring together. Five years of waiting for his brother to appear again, just like he always did. Loki died before. He couldn’t be dead now.

“Why would Loki try to kill that madman with a knife if he didn’t have a scheme in his head?” Thor thinks. Yeah. Loki wouldn’t let himself die in such a foolish way as that, would he?

Loki had said, “the sun will shine on us again” in his last moments. Loki said “us”. Him and Thor, the sun shining valiantly on them both. “Why would he say us if he was going to die?” Thor continued to ponder. 

Thor remembers his last words to Loki.

“You really are the worst, brother,” Thor has spoken, beaten and bruised and on the edge of death. It didn’t matter that it was sarcastic or not. It didn’t. He shouldn’t have said that. Not when it was life and death. Not when Loki was trading the fate of half the universe for Thor, for the brother he despised so much for hundreds and hundreds of years. 

Those thoughts confirmed what Thor already knew. He needed another drink and maybe another. What was he saying? He was definitely going to drink another after that. He needed to calm down. He wanted to forget these thoughts.

He looked over at Korg and Miek playing that game of theirs before heading to the fridge, retrieving several bottles of mead.

The second Thor had gone to crack open a bottle, the creak of the door interrupted him. 

The voices of Bruce and Rocket boomed through the house.

Most of it was just noise, Thor happily greeting the friends he hadn’t seen in years, threatening that troll Korg was dealing with. Bruce and Rocket kept asking if Thor was okay. Why wouldn’t he be? There wasn’t a single thing wrong!

“We need your help. There might be a chance we could fix everything,” Bruce slowly said.

“What, like the cable? Cause that’s been driving me bananas for weeks,” Thor replied, trying to avoid the obvious elephant in the room. He beamed with a loopy kind of cheer.

“Like Thanos,” Bruce uttered. Thanos? The memories hit him hard. Being beaten to the edge of death. White-hot, unbearable pain. Flashing purple. Being rendered helpless, watching as Thanos drove a sword through his best friend, Heimdall. The soft glow of blue as Thanos choked Loki to death in front of Thor, throwing his brother aside like trash. The snap of his neck. The snap of Thanos’s fingers as he decimated half the universe because Thor hasn’t been good enough. Not fast enough. Not strong enough. Not enough.

“Don’t say that name,” Thor choked out. White noise slipped in and out of his ears. Thor made an attempt to try to decipher what it was they were saying. He felt his arms being brushed off of something.

“Now, I know that… guy might scare you,” Bruce whispered gently. Was that Bruce? He saw Bruce’s lips moving so fast he could hardly keep up. Thor isn’t scared. No, not even a little bit.

“Why would I be? Why would, why would I be scared of that guy? I'm the one who killed that guy, remember? Anyone else here killed that guy? Nope. Didn't think so.” Thor blurted out in a string of words. Thor isn’t allowed to be scared. That purple jerk was dead. Thor remembered killing that prick. Why should he be scared?

“I get it. You're in a rough spot, okay? I've been there myself. You wanna know who helped me out of it?” Bruce ran his finger along Thor’s knuckles.

“I don’t know,” Thor thought for a minute, “Is it… Natasha?”

“It was you. You helped me,” Bruce softly said.

“Why don't you ask the… Asgardians down there, how much my help was worth,” Thor glanced through the window, “The ones that are left anyways.” Thor was useless to them, too busy with alcohol and games and ways to distract himself from reality.

“I think we can bring them back,” Bruce explained.

“Stop. Just, stop…” Thor sat down, not meeting Bruce’s eye, “I know you think I'm down here wallowing in my own self-pity, waiting to be rescued and-and saved. But I'm fine, okay? We're fine, aren't we?” That was exactly what Thor was doing. Waiting for something. Something to give his life meaning again. Why had he lived when so many others could have? He just didn’t want that false hope. He didn’t want to admit he wasn’t okay.

“We need you, pal,” Bruce pleaded, “It’s okay to… not be fine.” Rocket cleared his throat.

“There’s beer on the ship,” Rocket states, crossing his arms. The rest was history.

\--

It was an insane plan. Go back in time to retrieve the Infinity Stones, snap their fingers, and bring them back? It was insane but it was the only option. Nebula and Rhodes were tasked with going to Xandar to retrieve the Power Stone, while Steve, Tony, and that Scott guy were to retrieve the Space and Mind Stones. Rocket takes Natasha to Asgard to get the Reality Stone. Clint was being sent to get the Time Stone.

“Bruce, Thor, you guys go to Vormir to get the Soul Stone,” Tony had said. 

They were all suited up, standing together. 

“Whatever it takes,” they had uttered.

\--

Vormir… it was more beautiful that Thor could have ever envisioned. The pink light that dimly peeked out from the clouds shed a soft purple on the stone that their feet stood on. Stone. Right, they were getting the Soul Stone.

Bruce looked up at the two large stones casting pitch black shadows. The stones framed a robed figure that floated about in a dissipating mist. 

“Who are you?” Bruce called. Thor trailed behind warily.

“Bruce, son of Rebecca,” the figure turned to Bruce. Under the hood was a red, blood red, skull. “Thor, son of Odin,” the… stonekeeper spoke, facing Thor. Thor’s fingers were starting to shake. Odin… Hela. Asgard. Heimdall. Loki. Thor’s thoughts were cut off as Bruce intertwined his hand with Thor’s, shooting him a small smile.

“It’s okay, just breathe,” Bruce murmured. Thor inhaled a shallow breath and exhaled slowly. “So, you know us?” Bruce asked. He seemed to be the one to do all the talking. 

“It is my curse to know all who journey here,” the skull-headed man spoke. His hollowed eyes stared at the two, following them.

“Where is the Soul Stone?” Thor finally spoke. 

“I’d like to inform you. The stone comes at a high price,” the figure warns. 

“We’re prepared to pay it,” Bruce looked to Thor, who nodded. The stonekeeper moved aside, letting the two look over at the daunting cliff.

“That’s what everyone thinks,” the stonekeeper murmured.

“What does that mean?” Bruce asked again, looking over the cliff to see a long, long drop down.

“The Soul Stone is a special one among the Infinity Stones. To ensure that whoever possesses it understands its power,” the man paused, “the stone demands a sacrifice.”

Thor and Bruce look at each other, eyes glittering in the pale, pink light. They huddle together, throwing a cautious glare to the stonekeeper.

“He’s bluffing,” Bruce whispered, squeezing Thor’s hand gently.

“No, he can’t be. Nebula said that Thanos went to Vormir with Gamora, and he left without her. He left with the Soul Stone. She was Thanos’s daughter, Bruce. It’s not a coincidence” Thor argued. Tears pricked the corners of his eyes as turned to look at the cliff yet again. 

“Yeah,” Bruce finally agreed. A grim silence settled between the two. 

“If we don’t get that stone, billions of people stay dead,” Thor reasoned, “We both know who it’s gotta be.”

“Yeah, we do,” Bruce contemplated, staring up at the clouds and just… this place.

“I feel like we’re talking about different people here,” Thor weakly chuckled. Before Bruce could even react, Thor bolted, jumping, “See you on the other side.” Bruce grabbed Thor by his arm right in time.

“Damn you,” Thor muttered. The corners of Bruce’s eyes shined brightly against soft light. 

“I’m not letting you go,” Bruce spoke. 

“It’s okay, Bruce,” Thor softly said. Tears streamed down his cheeks as his arm started to slip from Bruce’s hold.

“No,” Bruce hoarsely begged.

“We could fix everything,” Thor smiled.

“There has to be another way,” Bruce looked around. Thor risked a glance down at the fall. It wouldn’t hurt that much. It was quick. Finally, his life would mean something. Life was growth, it was change. Thor could change this. He could bring back billions of people.

“It’s okay, Bruce. You may let me go,” Thor whispered.

“Please, Thor—” Bruce pleaded.

“Whatever it takes,” Thor kicked his feet against the side of the cliff, ripping his grip away from Bruce. No more staggering through self-pity. This was it. 

Thor remembered his mother, his father, his best friend, his brother. He remembered Tony, Steve, Natasha, Clint, and Bruce. He remembered those small victories they shared, the challenges they faced together. They were like… his family.

Happy memories are Thor’s last thoughts before it goes black.

\--

Bruce jolted awake, drenched in water. What…

Oh.

Thor had- he had jumped. 

Bruce felt something in his hand. He opened his hand see a stone glowing a soft orange.

The Soul Stone.

Thor’s gone.

A soul for a soul. It felt like Bruce had lost much more than Thor. He’d lost a part of himself. He stared down at the stone for what seemed like hours before being pulled back to the present. The last thing Bruce saw in Vormir was the sun shining brightly on him, instead of that soft light it had been previously.

“Did we get them all?” Tony confirmed, looking around. 

“You’re telling me this actually worked?” Rhodes hoped.

Bruce stepped down wordlessly.

“Bruce, where’s Thor?” Steve asked, Natasha standing behind him. Bruce looked at the stone in his hand again and back to them. He swallowed the sobs back. He knew they understood as their expressions shifted into sadness, grief, horror.

Thor was gone, and no one could bring him back.

**Author's Note:**

> I know a lot of people wrote about this, but I did as well just to make everyone suffer.


End file.
